A herd of eight Asian elephants – an endangered species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – has been found living in an elephant conservation area in Nong Son district, central Quang Nam province.
Asian elephants found living in a forest in Quang Nam province (Photo courtesy of USAID)
QuangNam (VNS/VNA) - A herd of eight Asian elephants – an endangeredspecies listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) – has been found living in an elephant conservation area in Nong Sondistrict, central Quang Nam province.
Deputyhead of the provincial ranger and forest protection sub-department Tu VanKhanh confirmed that elephants had been found in a conservation zonefollowing a biodiversity evaluation programme launched in February.
Accordingto the report, the herd includes a mature male, one semi-maturemale, three mature females and two semi-mature females, and aone-year-old calf.
Itsaid the herd had the basic structure to grow in the south of theconservation zone in the near future.
Ina previous survey released a few years ago, at least five elephants werefound living in a forest in Que Lam commune in the same district followingsamples of dung and footprints.
Theelephant protection area, launched in 2017, is part of the United StatesAgency for International Development (USAID)-funded Green Annamites Project.
Thisprotected area covers 19,000 hectares of critical habitat for one of thelast groups of endangered Asian elephants in the province.
TheUS Government through USAID is working with Quang Nam’s leaders to improve thelivelihoods of locals living in and around the protected area, conductbiodiversity monitoring, and raise conservation awareness among locals.
Vietnamhas established a system of 176 protected areas starting with the firstnational park, Cuc Phuong, established in 1962.
TheUSAID Green Annamites Project, working in tandem with provincial authorities,will engage small-holder farmers and their families to improve livelihoods andincrease investment in climate-smart agriculture while conserving naturalbiodiversity.
Vietnam has around 100 Asian elephants living in the wild./.
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Asian elephants found living in a forest in Quang Nam province (Photo courtesy of USAID) 
